Blue Sky Studios challenging CGI cartoon field with “Rio”

Ever since Pixar opened the world of animation to CGI in 1997 with the release of “Toy Story,” other animation studios have been playing catch-up. DreamWorks is in second place, with its successful “Shrek,” “Madagascar” and “Kung Fu Panda” franchises. But a strong contender for third place is Fox’s Blue Sky Studios; first with its “Ice Age” series and now the animated feature “Rio.”

“Rio” begins in the jungles of Brazil, with a wonderfully choreographed dance/flight of tropical birds, singing and delighting in being alive. Unfortunately, after about 3 minutes of song and dance, here come the (unseen) humans, who use cages and nets to trap the beautiful birds. Among those is Blu (voice of Jesse Eisenberg), who somehow gets routed to Moose Lake, Minnesota. He falls out of the back of the truck, but is rescued by a little girl, Linda.

Fifteen years later, Brazilian ornithologist Tulio Monterio (Rodrigo Santoro) comes to visit the now adult Linda (Leslie Mann) and Blu, informing them that Blu is the only known male blue macaw (Wikipedia and the Fox press release identifies him as a “Spix Macaw”) in existence. He pleads with them to come with him to Rio where he has the only female blue macaw at his bird sanctuary. Neither Linda nor Blu (who is actually somewhat neurotic) are very sanguine about the idea, but Tulio manages to convince them.

While driving down along Rio’s famous beach, Blu meets Pedro (will.i.am) and Nico (Jamie Foxx), who inquire as to why he is in a cage. Blu tells them that he is on his way to meet a lady, and they give him some “tips” on romance with Brazilian female birds. Blu is shoved into the big bird enclosure, where he is enraptured by the sight of Jewel (Anne Hathaway). She’s not that impressed with him, especially since she’s looking to escape and he’s quite happy to be enclosed.

With the help of the psychotic cockatoo Nigel (Jemaine Clement), Blu and Jewel are stolen from the aviary and delivered to Marcel (Carlos Ponce), a bird smuggler who plans to make a fortune off the rare pair. The two are chained together, but manage to escape into the jungle. They meet the toucan Rafael (George Lopez), who is astonished to find out that Blu cannot fly. He agrees to take them to his friend Luiz (Tracy Morgan), who can remove the chain that ties Blu and Jewel together.

Explore the World of Rio: interactive tour with text, photos and interviews about the city of Rio

Saving the Species – One Voice At A Time: featurette on the voice cast

The Making of Hot Wings: featurette on the behind-the-scenes CGI

Boom-Boom Tish Tish – The Sounds of Rio: featurette on the film’s music

The Real Rio: travel featurette showcasing the actual city and it’s film counterparts

Postcards From Rio: the director and his top people go to Rio to do research

Carnival Dance-O-Rama: interactive feature that shows you how to dance like each character

Angry Birds Rio: three trailers for the “Rio” version of the popular video game “Angry Birds,” plus a cheat code

My parents wanted to take their grandchildren (and by extension, my wife and I) to a movie, and “Rio” was the only one playing at the time that was suitable. I was neutral on it, based on my opinion formed from seeing the trailers. Plus, Jesse Eisenberg always seems to play these nerdy characters; he is in danger of being typecast.

However, I warmed up quickly to the film. I didn’t mind Eisenberg’s nerdy character, because that was the “fish-out-of-water” element that made the film work. I also appreciated that it was grounded in the real world, as in the animals didn’t talk to the humans in English. And I was impressed that it was open about the trade in exotic birds and species in Brazil. I didn’t expect that in a G-rated movie.

I defy anyone to not at least sway a little bit to the music in this film. The music is as strong as a supporting character can be. I might have to pick up the soundtrack for use in future DJ gigs.

Bottom line: Younger children might be a little frightened of the smuggler and his evil hench-bird, but other than that, “Rio” is a delightful romp that will get some heavy-duty rotation in the kids’ video player. The folks at Pixar and DreamWorks might want to keep an eye out for Blue Sky.